Naruto: The Perfect Seal
by 2trip
Summary: Minato figures Kushina's dying anyway, so they might as well seal the Nine-Tails together. Things don't go quite as planned...
1. Prologue

A/N: This chapter has been rewritten as of February 2019

Prologue:

Minato and Kushina hung limp, impaled by the tail of the Kyuubi as Minato began the hand-seals for the Reaper Death Seal.

"Minato, you self-sacrificing idiot, we'll do it together! We've only been married a year, you think I'm putting up with this 'Till death do us part' shit?! You're taking me with you, you hear me!"

"Kushina…"

"Don't 'Kushina' me, you're not leaving me to the afterlife so you can go be the Death-God's lunch!"

"I…ok. We'll do it together."

In unison, they cried out as they painted seals in their own blood: "Eight Trigrams Sealing Style! 64 Trigrams: Purifying Rebirth."

The Kyuubi _screamed_ as twin divinities appeared: the Shinigami, face pale, took a blade to the beast's soul, devouring each piece as it came free. The Kami, in turn, shone with golden light as a brilliant flame consumed the chakra that formed the body. The bodies of every person in the clearing shone with the same light before they dissolved and converged on Naruto.

BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBREAK

"I can't believe that worked!" Kushina exclaimed, her verbal tic rearing its head as she leapt up to hug her husband.

"Neither can I…" Minato sagged with relief, and under the unexpected affectionate assault from his no-longer-pregnant wife, before straightening up in surprise. "Kushina."

"Yes?"

"For the Shinigami's stomach, I expected there to be less damp stone walls and more eternal combat with our mortal enemy."

"…ya know—" she began.

"No, no, NO, _NO,_ ** _NO,_** **NO**!"

An echoing, vehement shout interrupted, interspersed with regular, metallic bangs.

"This is _not."_

 ** _BANG._**

"How this."

 ** _BANG._**

"Was supposed."

 ** _BANG._** "

To go!" The banging stopped for a moment

"They were supposed to _die_!"

Minato and Kushina snapped their heads around at that. Running down the hall after the reverberations of the voice, Minato stopped short upon seeing the speaker.

"Obito…?" he breathed.

"You bastard, what d'ya want with my son, eh?" Kushina flashed across the room, grabbing the now-named Obito by the collar, interrupting the banging of his head against his cell bars.

"Oh, so we meet again, Hello, Minato. You don't seem surprised to see me." The scarred man scowled, glaring at his former teacher.

 _Tsunade?_ _Minato mused._ _No._

 _He murmured as he thought "…then perhaps,_ _Izanagi?"_

Obito's one good eye widened with shock. "Did you just say—"

Minato continued to ignore him, the rest of his musings silent as Kushina put Obito in a headlock.

"Don't. Ignore. Me. What did you want with the Kyubi? And actually, what was the big idea barging in and taking my son as a hostage? You better have a good explanation for this, or your resurrection is gonna be awfully short! You nearly got him killed! …matter of fact, you _did_ get _us_ killed, you bastard!"

Obito choked weakly "Blurgh…"

"Talk, dammit!" Kushina ordered, tightening her hold.

"Uh…Kushina?" Minato said, hesitating as Obito's face began to purple from oxygen deprivation.

She pinned him with a fierce glare. "What?"

"He can't talk when you're crushing his throat."

"Oh…"

Loosening her grip, she grabbed Obito by the scruff of his collar as he struggled to get away. An outside observer would find it amusing to see the S-rank criminal wriggling like a disobedient puppy as he regained his breath.

Realizing the futility of fighting, he sagged in her grip. "It's over, anyway. I've failed."

"Failed to do what?" Minato prodded.

Over the next few hours, Obito explained the Eye of the Moon Plan, and Naruto slept, so exhausted by containing the most powerful entities in the world that he couldn't even muster the energy to cry inside his own mindscape.

-BREAK-

Outside the mindscape, the seals on Naruto's still body thrummed with the power they contained, glowing a faint yellow-orange in the shadows cast by guttering torchlight. Eight seals centered on each of the Eight Gates and flowed up his left leg and crossed his torso, then split at his throat to trace up his temples into a pair of tight Uzumaki spirals on his forehead.

As the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, examined the seals, a growing awe filled him. The strongest seal he'd seen was Minato Namikaze's variant of the Eight-Trigrams Seal, a reverse-engineered work of the Uzumaki style that even in death adorned Kushina's body. The seal marring Naruto's body, was a masterpiece beyond compare, as far beyond Kushina's seal as that seal was from an explosive tag.

Beyond the visible seals Hiruzen could see, visible only to the Byakugan and dojutsu like it, a network of infinitesimal strands etched over the child's entire body channeled as much power as the average Chunin. None was the Kyubi's—Rather, a mixture of the child's own incredible, untainted reserves, Minato's dense, efficient chakra, Kushina's energetic flares of life force, and another, darker energy coursed through the network.

These details went unnoticed by Hiruzen's mortal eyes as the God of Shinobi interpreted the fragments he saw in the seal-work itself as the ink faded, sinking below the surface to lie quiet until called upon.

 _This section here…a healing seal supplied by output from the containing seal… Reinforcements and dilations to the seal to allow it to channel a truly monstrous quantity of chakra. And, of course, releases at the heart of each spiral to allow the excess to flow into the boy's own pathways. The regeneration rate alone should rival Tsunade's, but the overflow will make chakra control virtually impossible without augmentation. Not to mention the genetic degradation of constant regeneration…_

 _Minato and Kushina made their son virtually indestructible—but at what cost…_


	2. Placement

Chapter 2: Nobody Likes Politics

A/N

 _To start, my responses to reviews:_

 _allykat5: Per what I've seen in canon, the Fuuin Shiki is a contract: You make an agreement with the Shinigami (via casting the jutsu), then he fulfils it along the agreed-upon terms. For example, the Third dies instantly, along with the First and Second, as well as the snake-bastard's arms (If you're wondering how he managed to seal 2+ souls for the cost of 1, my headcanon says that since the First and Second were already dead, it was easier to seal them). Including Kushina's soul in the contract allows Minato to_

 _Notes:_

 _I know Fugaku is probably way OOC right now, but keep in mind that this is_ before _the rumors about the Uchiha really got going. There's no coup planned, at least not yet, and he recognizes the trust the Hokage is showing him._

 _On that note, read and review as usual. As always, flames will be mailed to the IRS to warm the icy cockles of their atrophied hearts._

 **Konoha Council Chambers**

Hiruzen entered the council chambers to a panicked uproar from the civilian council.

"Lord Third!"

"Where is Lord Fourth?"

"What happened to the demon? Did the Hokage kill it?"

The aged ninja closed his eyes, breathed deeply, and snapped them open again, flaring his chakra. The wave of sheer _presence_ stilled the room as the civilians gasped at the pressure and the shinobi jerked upright. There was silence, for a moment, then Hiashi, head of the Hyuuga, spoke, stilling his reflexively activated Byakugan.

"Judging from the turbulence of your chakra, Lord Third, I take it Lord Fourth is no longer with us."

Hiruzen's eyes fell, his presence receding as he fell back into his chair. "It's with great sorrow, I must admit, that I take up the mantle of Hokage once again. Minato is gone." _Best not to tell them of_ that _chakra I sensed in the boy's seal. Perhaps…yes, that should do._ "He sacrificed himself to re-seal the beast."

One of the pale-faced, nervous civilians stood, perplexed "Re-seal? Lord Th—Hokage, what do you mean, re-sealed? Was the beast sealed before the attack?"

 _Perfect. This should unsettle them enough to keep them from asking about the seal._ "Yes. In fact, the Nine-Tails has been in Konoha's possession since the days of Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage. The first container was his wife, Mito Uzumaki. The second was one of her clanswomen, Kushina. The one chosen this time is the last of Konoha's Uzumaki lineage, Kushina's son. His name is Naruto, and he continues an honored tradition of Uzumaki who live to serve our village."

The civilian who'd spoken previously grew ever-paler as recognition dawned in his mind. "You mean to say…that _monster_ has been hiding among us all these years?! How could the Hokage allow this to continue? We must kill it!"

"Really? By all means, if you wish to _free_ the beast. Though you may kill its container, the Kyuubi is a force of nature, un-killable by mortal means. Even the Fourth didn't presume to _kill_ the beast, merely to seal it, and even doing that much cost him his life!" replied the elderly Sarutobi. "No, the Kyuubi's container will fight this battle his entire life, matching the beast's will with his own to keep it imprisoned. If he should die, the beast will disperse for a time, and then return as strong as ever"

The civilian council sat, silenced and thoughtful, until one near-hysterical woman shouted. "Even if we can't kill it, you can't let it keep living among us! The demon could break loose at any time and kill us all!"

Like a dam bursting, a torrent of agreement filled the room. The Third again flared his presence, stilling them, then spoke again. "He will require training to combat the beast. Will you risk freeing the beast, merely to prevent him from attending the Academy?"

More calmly than the civilians, Tsume Inuzuka spoke up. "It's not safe. Even if he does have the beast under control, it leaves the boy and the village at too much of a risk. He needs to be trained before he comes anywhere _near_ sparring with another student, not to mention the potential for assassins or kidnappers."

"Very well," Hiruzen acquiesced. "You make excellent points; the same I would make in your position. Instead of enrolling as an Academy first-year, when the time comes Naruto will receive private tutoring in a secure location." He paused. "That solves that problem. Now, let's see about the plans for rebuilding the damaged sections of the village…

-BREAK-

 _Several hours later…_

"…and with that, this meeting is adjourned. Details will be handled by their respective departments, and complications may be addressed via appropriately filing the necessary paperwork with the Hokage's secretary," the Council recorder finished. As people began filing out of the room, the newly reinstated Hokage rubbed his temples and let out a sigh.

 _So tedious…but at least I managed to secure Naruto a bit of safety. Knowing the Kyuubi was sealed for nearly one-hundred years before breaking free made all the difference._

He broke free from his musings as Kakashi approached. The last scion of the Hatake clan wore a scowl—not that anyone could see it under his mask—and let out a low, frustrated huff. "I _know_ what you're hiding. Naruto is _his_ son, and you're just going to let them banish him? He deserves a normal childhood, we owe him at least that much."

"You know we can't let anyone know who his father was. Even letting out the secret of his mother is dangerous. Uzu still has enemies."

"Don't dodge the question."

"It's not banishment. At least, not permanently. And I had no choice. You haven't seen the seal Minato put on the child…better to let them think he's a normal Jinchuuriki and keep him out of the village for a few years than for them to realize the truth."

"You have to at least let me take care of him. You know Jiraiya can't, even if he _is_ the boy's godfather. He's got to maintain his spy network. Hell, Tsunade would be perfect, but after what happened… I'm the only one left."

"No, I can't let you have him. A blond-haired, blue-eyed child, raised by the sole surviving student of the Fourth Hokage? We might as well put him in the Bingo Book. That's not even considering your own situation. You're what, 14? Furthermore, you're one of the best ANBU Konoha has, and with our ranks so depleted…No, there's no way I can let you keep him."

"Who _can_?" Kakashi prodded, exasperated. Hiruzen's eyes slid away Kakashi, towards the Uchiha patriarch, Fugaku. Kakashi followed his gaze, and took a sharp breath. "Him!? You can't be serious!"

"And yet, miraculously, I am," the Hokage dryly riposted. "There are rumours going about of an Uchiha being present at the Kyuubi's attack. If they continue, the Uchiha will become outcasts in their own village. It's not a choice I make lightly, but if I send Naruto with the Uchiha, we can kill two birds with one stone. As you know, Madara once controlled the Kyuubi using his Sharingan. If the Uchiha can replicate that ability, Naruto will be able to train safely knowing that if he loses control, someone can stop the beast from escaping. In addition, the village will begin to see the Uchiha as protectors. It's best for everyone."

"I don't like it…but I'll be keeping an eye on him, either way. Do what you want," Kakashi grudgingly caved.

Sarutobi smiled. "I planned to."

-BREAK-

"No."

"No?"

"No, I won't do it. I will _not_ allow you to plant that…loose cannon among my clansmen," Hiashi said obstinately."

"Really? I'd think _you_ , of all people, would see the advantages of keeping him close." Hiruzen hinted.

"…What are you implying?"

"Well…there are the rumors of an _Uchiha_ triggering the Nine-Tail's rampage…and keeping the child with you instead might, perhaps, shift the views of the villagers in your favor."

"Or instead, we could be seen as power-hungry aristocrats conspiring to use the child in a violent, bloody coup," the head of the Hyuuga countered flatly. "No, Sarutobi. Even the Hyuuga are no match for a Tailed Beast."

"Very well, then. You may go, I know you must be busy rebuilding your compound," the Hokage said, sighing in carefully-crafted mock-disappointment.

Hiashi rose smoothly, bowed, and left the room without a word. The Hokage waited until the man was out of earshot, then called to his secretary.

"Please ask Fugaku Uchiha to meet with me in one hour."

 _Everything is going as planned…_

-BREAK-

 _How did I let myself get roped into this?_ Fugaku brooded as he roof-jumped towards the Uchiha compound. _Oh, right…as usual, Lord Hokage cornered me and gave me no other way out. Offering the child to the Hyuuga first…bah! Of all the infuriating—_

His thoughts trailed off as he remembered the child; so quiet, so still. The medics claimed there was nothing wrong; he was merely tired from holding back the immense power of the Kyuubi. Over time, they said, he would grow accustomed to the strain, but he would always feel the weight of his burden.

 _In any case, it's not like he's_ my _child. Merely a ward of the Uchiha, a symbol of our strength and loyalty for all of Konoha to see and respect. Still…someone must watch over the child, and I will_ not _allow this to be done by half-measures. Perhaps Itachi…no. As my heir, he'll have too many responsibilities to waste time as a babysitter, not to mention his age. Shisui? I could simply pair him with Sasuke's caretaker, at least to start with…Yes, that should do nicely. He'll still need a guard, however. The Hokage said Hatake was interested in the child. Perhaps I can hire him to watch over the child._

 _So much to do, and yet so little. All I can do is wait and see how the child develops…_

 _To be continued…_


	3. Training

Chapter 3: _Presenting:_ Naruto "the Immortal" Uzumaki

-AUTHOR'S NOTE-

' _Sup, people. Another quick, short update. I've got a bit more of an idea of the overall plot of the story, so now all that's left to do is write! Always the hardest part, that._

 _On another note, I've managed to hammer out my basic plans for Naruto and Sasuke's personalities, introduced in this chapter. I'm not sure who I'll give them as Jonin-sense…Kakashi is so overdone, but he's an absolute comedy piñata. Hmm…Gai is always fun…and Anko is a psycho, but hilarious…Maybe I can give Kakashi an omake? Whatevs, I'll figure it out._

 _As always thanks for reading (and reviewing, if you decide to.) and enjoy the story!_

-CHAPTER START-

 _*CRACK*_

"Goddammit, Naruto! Just because you can't die doesn't mean you can do whatever you want! This is your twenty-third regeneration in the last _hour_!"

"Fine, I'll take a break, but I'm _going_ to finish this technique eventually," the ten-year old irritably retorted. Running his fingers over a pair of needle-like seals on his inner forearm, the red-gold aura suffusing his skin receded into the black seals lacing his torso, which in turn faded to a near-invisible, red-orange tinge.

"Why are you so determined to create the perfect shield, anyway? You can recover from any injury, and your chakra's so dense you can pop out A-Rank assault techniques like candy! You can just keep pummeling whoever it is you fight until they drop, right?"

"I'm not trying to kill anyone. My job is to protect, and I need the strongest shield possible to defend my future comrades. Not to mention taking hits still hurts like a bitch," He explained, thinking back to his first proper injury.

-FLASHBACK –

 _2 years earlier…_

 _Sasuke walked in the evening light, unescorted. His usual guardian had joined the expanded night patrols, but he'd snuck out to visit Naruto. The boy lived in the center of the Uchiha compound, on the second floor of the main meeting hall, where he could be protected from the villagers' ire, and train near the largest concentration of active Sharingan users in the gated community._

 _As he approached the compound, Sasuke pulled a kunai strung with ninja wire from his pocket, then threw it through his friend's window. As he climbed it, he heard light rustling as Naruto rose from his bed and came to the window._

"…' _ke? 's late," he said sleepily. "Nobody else is here, everybody got upset and left…"_

" _It's not_ that _late. You're just lazy. I heard that the Hyuuga heiress got kidnapped. She's ok, but all the clans are upping patrols in case anyone tries again, so people are pretty busy," Sasuke said, pulling himself through the window. "C'mon, you gotta help me train. I'm trying to figure out the Fireball jutsu, but I can't quite get it. Nobody else knows chakra like you, so you've just_ got _to help me get this one. I promise I'll never ask for anything else, not if we live a thousand—"_

 _Sasuke's wheedling was abruptly cut off by a ninja breaking down the door, kunai in each hand. Naruto looked over at him, rubbing one eye drowsily._

" _Who're you…?" he queried. Sasuke didn't give him time to answer, grabbing him and jumping out the window._

" _Where're we goin,' Sasuke?" Naruto asked groggily._

" _Nowhere," a sinister, rasping voice hissed from behind them. "Not if I have anything to say about it. Nothing personal, little Uchiha brat, but I have to kill you now."_

 _The man moved quick as a shadow, slashing his kunai towards Sasuke's chest. Seeing his target fall, the man turned, only to see Sasuke standing completely unharmed. "How like an Uchiha, to sacrifice a friend to save your own skin," he spat._

Wha— _Sasuke half-thought, before seeing Naruto's prone form. "Naruto! No!"_

" _Oh, yes, little brat. Look what you've done. Now you're going to die, and I'm going to take those pretty little eyes of yours," the slim, masked figure sneered, raising his remaining kunai._

 _Unseen by the enemy, Naruto's seal glowed a faint green, and he reached up to pull the blade out of his chest as the wound closed behind it. Eyes burning a flaming gold, he leapt at his would-be assassin, raising the weapon for a killing blow, spinning it in his fingers, and then bringing it down with a 'thud.' His target fell silently, out cold from the single sharp blow._

" _Ninja rule number 3: Do not allow yourself to be deceived by appearances," Naruto scolded, crouching by the downed man's head. "Though you couldn't have known I had_ that _ability, you really should have studied up!"_

 _Sasuke looked at him in awe, fear forgotten. "Whoa…duuuuuude, you_ have _to teach me how to do that!"_

 _Naruto ignored the question, too busy passing out where he stood. Sasuke let out a cry. "Naruto!"_

 _As he rushed to his friend's side, a hand stopped him, firmly gripping his shoulder. Looking up, he saw the masked face of an entire ANBU squad, all with Sharingan spinning furiously._

" _Master Sasuke. Please allow us to escort you to your home. There may be others nearby. One of the other squads will take this filth to be interrogated, and another will care for Master Naruto" the leader of the patrol squad said._

 _Upon investigation, the ninja involved in the two attacks were discovered to be "diplomats" from Kumo. Though their home village pushed for reparations, the shinobi Naruto incapacitated broke under torture and spilled the whole story, leaving no way for Kumo to deny the conspiracy._

-FLASHBACK END-

In the present, Naruto shook his head free from his memories. Since then, he and Sasuke had trained in basic hand-to-hand and situational awareness to give them a fighting chance in combat. After hearing about the attempt on his life, Itachi insisted on guarding and training them personally, much to Naruto's chagrin. Apparently, the Uchiha council was opposed to letting the heir pull babysitting duty, so they hadn't let him do it before, but now that Naruto and Sasuke were old enough to train, he could explain it as "ensuring the future of the Uchiha," and the like.

At this point, though, Naruto was training with one of the younger Uchiha, an unusually excitable Chuunin whose signature move was an impressive knockoff of Hiruzen Sarutobi's _Dragon Flame Bullet_ : a smaller, less powerful version called _Salamander Flame Bullet._

"…ruto! NARUTO!" the fire specialist called, waving his hand in front of Naruto's face. "You in there?"

"Get your hand outta my face, Yuto," Naruto brushed him off. "Unless of course you're ready to switch to Taijutsu…"

Yuto blanched. "Uh…I just remembered I got something…someplace…gotta go, bye!"

 _As usual,_ Naruto thought with a small smirk. _Yuto's_ so _easy to rile up._

Easing out of his combat persona, he found his eyelids drooping and he yawned. _I'll just take…a little break,_ he mused, settling beneath a nearby tree. _Then I can try to figure out…what…went…wro…ng._

Anyone looking for him over the next few hours would have found him still sprawled beneath the tree, breaking the silence with an occasional snore.

-BREAK-


	4. Inspection

Chapter 4: Naruto steals a catchphrase.

"Naruto, wake up. If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times before. You can't go napping in the middle of training, no matter how tired you are."

A familiar monotone pierced Naruto's pleasant, if odd dreams of running around in an orange jumpsuit yelling catchphrases and eating ramen. Cracking one eye open, he half-grunted a greeting. "Hi, 'tachi. Why'd you wake me up?"

"You're sleeping on the ground. In the middle of the day. _Tuesday_ , to be precise. Do you remember what's special about Tuesday, Naruto?" the Uchiha heir prodded, his signature monotone somehow managing to seem exasperated.

"Tues—oh, crap…do I really have to go get my seals looked at _again_? They're working perfectly, like always! Those Hyuuga always look at me like I put something nasty in their food. I mean, Hinata and Hanabi are nice enough, and Neji's dad is cool, but Lord Hiashi acts like I'm an exploding tag or something…"

"Yes, Naruto. Hokage's orders, remember? And it's only once a week, in any case. Don't get so worked up over it, you're just grouchy because you didn't get to finish your nap," Itachi politely pointed out.

"Yeah, yeah, let's just get this over with. It's just so…troublesome," Naruto grumbled as he followed Itachi out of the training field.

-BREAK-

Elsewhere in the village, the entire male half of the Nara clan sneezed at once. Shikamaru, looking up at the clouds, was struck by a sudden thought. _I feel like someone just stole my catchphrase. I could press copyright charges…but it would be so troublesome._

Shaking off the feeling, he continued lazily gazing up at the clouds.

-BREAK-

"As usual, Uzumaki, your seals remain as flawless as the day they were first applied. The Reaper Death Seal is still airtight; not a drop of the Nine-Tail's chakra is leaking through, and the Third's limiter seals are also holding up nicely," Hizashi said conclusively, grabbing Naruto's discarded shirt and handing it to him. "Have you experienced any changes since your last visit?

Pulling on the shirt, Naruto shook his head. "Nope, same as always. I don't even know why Lord Hokage still wants me coming here every week. I mean, I'd let somebody know if the seal ever started acting up, so there's no reason, right?"

"Well, with such an unusual seal, who knows what could happen? The Fourth was a true genius, but even with such a masterpiece there could be problems," Hizashi pointed out.

"I know, but…it's still one day a week I have to cut my nap short…"

The branch Hyuuga let out a chuckle at that. "I should've know it was something like that. I swear, if the Hokage hadn't made you start training, you'd have slept your whole life away. Anyway, we're all done here. I'll see you next week."

"Unfortunately…"

"Naruto." a familiar voice intoned before a black-haired blur slammed into him.

"Hrgh…" he groaned from his newfound resting place on the packed earth of the courtyard.

"Come, you must spar with me. You're the only non-Hyuuga who ever visits, and I must prove my strength before I punish those Kumo cowards who thought they could steal our priceless Hyuuga bloodline!"

Watching the spectacle, Hizashi gripped the bridge of his nose, sighing in exasperation. "Honestly, Neji, do you have to attack Naruto every time he visits?"

Said black-haired prodigy straightened, adopting a more dignified pose. "If he fails to dodge, that merely means it was our fate to meet again! Now, Naruto! It is your destiny to face me as my rival!"

"Fine, if you'll leave me alone after this…" Naruto accepted tiredly, before snapping into his battle persona as he flicked off his limiters with one quick hand-seal and stepped back, bouncing on the balls of his feet, "but don't expect me to go easy on you!"

"Indeed," Neji said, growing serious as he settled into a Gentle Fist stance. "I'll give this my all, for my it's my destiny to defeat you one day!"

Neji's arms spun as Naruto leapt forward, seals flickering…

-BREAK-

Breathing hard, Naruto landed lightly on his feet as Neji sat up gingerly. Reaching out a hand, he pulled the young Hyuuga to his feet. "Like I said last time, I'm the worst possible opponent for you to fight. Even your Gentle Fist isn't enough to stop _my_ chakra from flowing."

"Indeed. It seems it was not my fate to defeat you today, but do not presume that I will stop trying. Even someone like you cannot stay ahead of me for long!" the Hyuuga prodigy declared decisively. "Even if I never defeat you, my fate will ensure I grow strong enough to teach those Kumo-nin not to underestimate the might of the Hyuuga!"

"Yeah, yeah. Even if you can't beat 'em with your Gentle Fist, you could probably irritate them until they committed suicide," the blonde grumbled, sliding easily out of his "attack mode as he reactivated his limiter seals, the entire array flashing once before fading completely.

"I don't know if that would work. Perhaps I can try it on _you_ first," the prodigy sniped, before turning to leave. "In any case, it's unseemly for a Hyuuga to go about smelling of sweat. If anyone asks, I'll be at the hot springs."

Hearing nothing but a breath of wind in response, he turned to see a note fluttering in Naruto's place. Activating his Byakugan, he read it at range while heading towards the baths.

 _I'm not your secretary._

The seemingly uptight Hyuuga suppressed a laugh at the thought of Naruto snoozing behind a desk, then continued on his way.

-BREAK

"I don't want to go."

"We don't always get what we want, Naruto. Besides, this was the agreement the Council came to ten years ago; you have to go to the Academy to learn how to work with someone besides Sasuke and Neji. You're not always going to have a pair of prodigies to work with, so you'll need to get used to looking out for people and letting them look out for you," the Hokage explained, fixing Naruto with a firm look.

"Fine, but I want to go this year, so I can keep working with them. Sasuke's dad let him enter early three years ago, and Neji got in too," Naruto argued, unusually emphatic. He still slept as much as he could, but he'd kicked the habit of passing out every time he lay down. Still, it was odd for him to be this fierce about something with the limiters active.

-FLASHBACK

 _The limiters were a little invention added after Naruto got used to the surplus of chakra burdening the seal. 2 weeks after his first birthday, he went abruptly from sleeping ninety percent of the time to positively bursting with energy. He'd glowed with power and could plow through walls without a thought. He melted dishes, burnt furniture, and never slept. Ever._

 _The Third Hokage spent three sleepless days and nights creating the limiters to siphon the boy's excess chakra into the Nine-Tails' restraint seal, essentially forcing his own chakra to work against itself; the more he developed, the more it suppressed itself._

 _God help anyone who forced him to open them all the way…the energy released at ground zero would likely turn everything within a 10-meter radius to ash…then turn the ashes to glass._

-FLASHBACK END-

In the present, the Hokage smiled. Not a friendly smile, the sort you give when you see someone you like, but the sort of smile you get when you know something someone else doesn't.

"Are you _sure_ about that?" he asked.

Naruto paled slightly, but nodded, wondering what Hiruzen had cooked up this time.

"Good. I'm sure you'll be fine with the fact that the start time has been changed, then. This year, the Academy school-day begins at 0500 sharp. Have fun!" the Hokage announced with satisfaction. _I always told you you'd have to wake up at a decent hour someday,_ he gloated, then turned his attention back to his unfortunate victim.

"Aw, motherf—

The Hokage cut him off with a sharp "Naruto!"

The boy shook his head, and a dark smile spread across his face as he dramatically clenched his fist "This means war, old man. My grief for my late mornings will be felt across all of Konoha…no, across the entire world! Mark my word, _Lord_ Hokage…"

Now it was the Hokage's turn to pale. _What fresh hell have I unleashed on our village this time, Kushina. Minato, this was supposed to be_ your _job!_

The pranking spree that followed was the stuff of legend, told and retold in bars over the whole village for years to come. Only upon graduation, when Naruto was finally allowed to sleep in once more, was his vengeance sated.

 _To be continued…_

A/N

 _Nothing really of importance to say this time. I suck at writing action scenes (and they take up a metric fuckton of space), so I'm skipping the minor ones to focus on plot for now. I know it's a bit montage-y right now, but the real story can start now that they've graduated. Stuff should start picking up next chapter, but I expect it to take a bit longer. It'll be worth it to get the whole thing out at once, though._

 _Notes:_

 _I plan to rewrite this story once I finish it and start the sequel, but for now it'll have a crapton of little-bitty chapters._

 _Also…for anyone who's worried I'm making Naruto too powerful, I just have to point out that he's got a lot more going for him in this timeline. He_ does _have flaws, and they'll become apparent later, but for now he's got everything going for him. Rest assured, this means a lot less "talk no jutsu" and a lot more ass-kicking later on._


	5. Graduation

_ALERT: A/N INCOMING_

 _FINALS ARE DONE! Anyway, I abandoned this story a few months back because I didn't know how to continue writing it, but I've gotten some experience, and won't burn myself out this time. This chapter is short, but I figure writing at all is better than nothing, and I've figured out some ideas on where to take the plot from here. I'll try not to ragequit this time, and I don't plan to go longer than a week or two without uploading_ something _, even if it's only a couple-hundred words._

Chapter 5: Welcome to the Jungle

Sitting near the front of the class, Naruto dozed until Iruka called the final class of the year to order.

"Congratulations on passing your Academy graduation exam. From this day forward, you are all true ninja of the Leaf Village. That said, **shut up and listen!** " the scar-faced Chuunin roared over the murmur of four voices in conversation and one yellow-haired 11-year old's snores.

The room quieted instantly. Then Naruto snored again. Iruka flicked a kunai at his head.

"Naruto, wake up!"

Still half-asleep, the blond shifted minutely and the slow-moving blade bounced off his headband, leaving a light nick in the polished steel.

"It's not nice to attack your students, 'ka-sensei. Besides, we're the only ones here. Do you have to act like it's a full class?" he pointed out, eyes cracking open. "…zzz…stupid…zzz…sensei…zzz"

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Iruka ignored the jab and continued; "As I _going_ to say, the number of graduates was unusually low this year, so we only have one team to announce: Team 11, composed of Naruto Uzumaki, Neji Hyuuga, Sasuke Uchiha, and Tenten, led by one Anko Mitarashi. Rock Lee has been requested for a Jonin apprenticeship with Might Guy, and will undergo individual training until the next graduation. That is all. Your sensei will arrive shortly, so wait here until they arrive."

"A five-man squad…that's strange. Does the upper echelon doubt our abilities?" queried a bemused Neji.

"No. The Hokage decided having one larger squad would be safer. If we'd done it any other way, we'd have wound up with one or two three-man squads. He also apparently factored in your sensei's attitude, and decided more targets would increase your odds of survival," replied the Chuunin, collecting papers from his desk.

"Wait—targets? What kind of sensei did you let Lord Hokage pick for us, sensei?" Tenten challenged incredulously.

Iruka opened his mouth to respond, "Actually—"before he glanced out the window.

Diving under his desk, he was narrowly missed by Anko's signature dramatic-entrance-through-the-window-preceded-by-flying-kunai.

"Hello, brats! Ready to have some fun? Because I know _I_ am…" she purred.

Her Genin team looked at her with horrified looks for a grand total of 3 seconds. Then a snore from Naruto broke the silence, and the drama of the moment shattered into a thousand pieces as the other members of Team 11, by turns, laughed (Sasuke), gaped incredulously (Tenten), and twitched (Neji and Anko).

"Naruto," Neji said with unnatural calm. "If you don't wake up in the next second, I'm going to tell Lee you want to spar with him."

Anko burst into a maniacal cackle. "No, no, let me show you how it's done, Byakugan-brat. Consider this your first lesson as my students: don't let the enemy know you're coming."

Seemingly gliding up the wall, the psychotic Jonin silently crossed the ceiling to hover above the snoozing blond, smoothly weaving hand-seals all the way. Finishing the long sequence, she stretched out her hands, lithe fingers stretching into a sinuous, slithering, hissing web of snakes. They smoothly slid around the sleeping wild-card ninja's limbs, coming close, but never touching him, until he was entirely entwined.

Then, with a vicious hiss, they clamped around him with bruising force as he sputtered awake, choking for air through his constricted windpipe. They clung to him for a few seconds, then sagged as he finally managed a panicked Replacement technique.

Gasping for breath, he released his suppressing seals with a thought and took a lightning-fast lunge toward the snake mistress, swinging a fist covered in his half-finished shielding jutsu.

Needless to say, he missed. Anko, almost languidly, dodged with a slight sway. "Oh, you're a feisty one! And here I thought you'd be a boring, lazy kid I'd have to beat into training every day!"

Naruto stopped midway through his next lunge and sat down hard as realization hit him. "Oh. It's just our new sensei. Wake me when it's time for training," he yawned, then laid back and started snoring again, having deactivated his seals once more.

Anko gaped momentarily. "Wha—? The he—? You can't just go to sleep in the middle of a fight!" she fumed, her vexation leaving her at a loss for words. "Is he _always_ like this?"

"Yes," intoned the rest of his team simultaneously, "always."

 _To be continued_

 _Endnote:_

 _Do y'all want an actual plot, or just more comedy shenanigans? I'm happy to write either, but I honestly have no plans for this story beyond maybe the next couple chapters. No slash, but OC's are a possibility. Hit me up via review or PM._

" _I added a flamethrower to the Mark IV."_

" _What does it shoot?"_

" _Flames."_

" _No, I meant what's its fuel?"_

" _Flames, Banner. Fuh-lames."_

" _That's…not physically possible, Tony."_

" _Clearly, you've never been through the reviews on FFN."_


	6. Aggression

_A/N_

 _Yo, Chapter 6 here. I had a bit of trouble figuring out what to do for this chapter. The whole "meet the teacher" scene most fics have seemed like it would work, but…Anko said "no," and Anko gets what Anko wants. Also…well, I won't make any promises, but hopefully I'll get the next chapter up quicker._

"Well, brats, let's get to training!" Anko declared. A growl from the depths of the shadow-infested forest behind her punctuated her words, and four Genin twitched. Well…three of them twitched. Naruto let out another snore, then blearily opened his eyes. _Goddammit. How the hell am I supposed to train a kid as lazy as that?_

"Aaaanko-sensei, aren't we going to take a minute to— here, he broke into a jaw-splitting yawn. –chat, get to know one another? 'm tired…" he whined.

Sasuke kicked him in the shin. "You've been in class with us all year, and you've heard enough gossip about Anko to know what she'll do to us if we slack off. Get off your butt or I'll tell Itachi you were sleeping through training again."

"Ow. That hurt, 'Suke. An' I don't see how _she_ can teach us anything 'Tachi or 'Kashi couldn't… Besides, she doesn't know _us_ yet."

"She probably read our Academy files. Besides, this'll be awesome. Don't you see where we are? It's the Forest-of-freaking-Death! Just think of how much stuff you'll be able to try your shield on!"

"Yeah…but…"

Tiring of conversation, Anko snaked her arms around Naruto (absentmindedly noting the muscle tone hinted at something more than his surface laziness), and catapulted him into the forest with a flick of her chakra-enhanced limbs. "Fetch, minions! You should probably try to reach him before he bleeds out."

Tenten and Neji, for their part, seemed alarmed (yet again) by their teacher's flippant attitude toward potentially-lethal violence. Sasuke just gave her a flat, mildly irked look, his prior enthusiasm dampened by the apparent idiocy of his companions and so-called instructor.

"Clearly I was wrong about you reading our Academy files," he sighed, then reluctantly turned to his remaining teammates. "Let's go get him. Follow me carefully so none of the animals get you."

Sasuke led his rather bewildered teammates between the massive, grey trunks of the deadly forest, picking his way through the underbrush and around herds, flocks, and nests of deadly aberrations. He privately amused himself by watching their faces grow increasingly anxious as his unruffled mask continued holding despite the lengthening shadows' ominous implications.

Inwardly, he was concerned. Naruto was essentially invulnerable to physical damage; his seals would repair any harm that came to him as fast as it happened. However, he was still at risk of mental damage, of the sort being pinned to a tree by a branch through his abdomen might cause, and at risk of doing others significant harm in the grip of his hyper-focused battle persona. Luckily, that persona could only be triggered by sudden surprises or immediate danger.

Unfortunately, that was exactly the sort of situation Anko probably triggered by catapulting him into the middle of the deadliest training ground in Konoha. Still, it _was_ an effective method of getting him to wake up.

Neji broke into Sasuke's musings. "—starting to get dark, isn't it? Maybe we should hurry."

"Nah, don't stress. With your eyes keeping watch and my jutsu to drive off the animals, we should be fine."

Tenten, befuddled, pressed him. "But...Naruto's out there by himself…"

"He'll be fine. He could use the workout anyway,"

"You don't seem particularly worried about him, brat. This forest is pretty dangerous, you know…" drawled their sensei's voice, echoing from the shadows."

Sasuke grinned in response. "Well, if you'd read our Academy files…"

 _Meanwhile, in another part of the forest…_

Naruto, falling through the bright morning sky and into the deepest, darkest part of the Forest of death, whipped a glistening strand at a spider as it fell from the trees above his head. Blue-black gore spilled from its bisected corpse as its abruptly-ended momentum carried it to the ground where his feet stood just moments before.

He was never there in the first place, or so one might think.

Picking up speed, he vaulted and flipped from trunk to trunk, leaving carnage in his wake as severed limbs fell and blood and ichor spurted from the not-quite-cauterized stumps. A massive tiger, decapitated with a stroke. A monstrous serpent, decimated with the wave of a hand. Trees the thickness of ten men, splintered to dust with a single blow.

He dealt death to all before him…except those he willingly spared...

Before their bodies hit the ground, he disappeared, flickering at-speed through the woods with nimbleness unsuited to the body of a child. Never hesitating, he struck decisively, purposefully, and swiftly, then flashed away.

He felt no remorse for their demise—he wore this lie upon his face like a mask.

And he laughed. He laughed the laugh of an innocent child playing with a new toy. He laughed the joyful laugh of a father with his son. He laughed the sweet laugh of a mother with her child. He laughed the morbid, dark laugh of one whose world has been shattered, and he laughed the sadistic laugh of one who loves watching the suffering of those weaker than himself.

He rampaged gleefully through the woods, reveling in the play of his muscles, the thrill of battle, and the joy of slaughter, and forgot entirely even the slightest memory of his friend, Sasuke, his rival, Neji, and his teammate, Tenten.

Abruptly, his revelry came to a stop. A momentary stop, indeed, but when one is experiencing such joy as Naruto was in that moment, the briefest interruption precedes the conversion of that joy into a towering rage.

Such was the case when Naruto was slammed into the ground by the Adamantine Staff of the Third Hokage and bound by a genjutsu of Itachi's making.

Shaking off the illusion with the barest twitch of an eyebrow, then batting aside the transformed Monkey King, Naruto's eyes locked onto his newest foes. For the first time since he fell into the woods, he hesitated.

Some animal part of him recognized the power of the duo facing him; while his chakra dwarfed their own, they gave off a dangerous aura. In a moment, fear was replaced once more by a ferocious desire to do battle with a worthy opponent, and he sprang to his feet, flipping through hand signs at blistering speed.

The Third and Itachi moved to intercept him before he could finish, but it was too late. As the Third fell, swinging his staff down with the aid of the momentum from his chakra-fueled leap, and Itachi emerged from his Body Flicker technique, the glowing seal tattoos that traced Naruto's body stuttered, darkened, and then _shone_ , a blast of pure energy kicking up dust as it propagated through the space between the trio and flinging Itachi and Hiruzen back into the forest whence they came.

As the cloud of dust receded, a swirling web of hair-thin, pale strands flowed from Naruto's palms, the trees casting stark shadows in their radiant light. Wrapping around his body, they highlighted his seals and overlaid them with an armor of pristine, star-bright threads. The silvery glow gave him an unsettling, otherworldly appearance, and his very hair seemed to fluoresce a bone-white sheen as the air itself crackled with power.

His vast rage and joy fully unleashed for the first time in his life, he stalked forward in pursuit of his enemy…no—his _prey!_

 _To be continued…_


	7. Suppression

Hiruzen rose on the force of Naruto's chakra-charged airburst, flipped backwards, and landed with a nimbleness more often seen in ninja half his age. Itachi was lower to the ground, so he dug his heels in and caught himself with on a branch. Hiruzen glanced at Itachi, signing in the coded seals of Konoha's special forces.

'Plan. Urgent. Contingency 113. As you thought.'

'Standard containment procedure, variation 3. Facilitate by flank pattern 2. On my mark…now.'

The time for conversation ended, they flashed off in opposite directions. The Third Hokage, heading deeper into the woods, felt Itachi's chakra signature fade until it was nigh-undetectable. He left his own unsuppressed, recalling old ANBU combat strategies. _Let's see…SCP-V3 dictates sealing, as opposed to termination or capture, and flank pattern 2 involves decoying the target into an ambush. It's been quite a while since I had to remember these; let's see if these old bones can pull it off!_

He counted off as he sped through the trees, leaving Naruto a clear trail to follow.

 _One._

They'd put this contingency in place upon deciding to place Naruto under Anko. She wasn't known for her gentleness, and the rough treatment broke open Naruto's containment seals.

 _Two._

Hiruzen hadn't designed them himself, of course. Jiraiya had managed to replicate a design from Kushina's notes. She'd originally planned to apply it to herself to stabilize the Nine-Tails while she was in labor. Unfortunately, she'd not gotten the chance, it seemed.

 _Three._

Hiruzen had hoped they wouldn't be needed. Naruto was a docile child, sleeping most of the time, and not prone to tantrums. It was fortunate, too; with the chakra of 3 of the most powerful ninja of their time sealed in him alongside the soul and power of an unstoppable demon, he could have caused severe damage despite his tender years.

 _Four._

After the attack on Sasuke, however, it seemed his true nature had awoken. He became increasingly aggressive and temperamental. Though he wouldn't deliberately attack anyone, if provoked he flew into a towering rage, demolishing everything he could get his hands on. The only way to stop it was to lock his power out of reach of his emotions, and teach him to suppress them.

 _Five._

In tandem with training in meditation, the seals allowed Naruto to maintain control over his power. Becoming emotional would bring it to the surface, but had never proved sufficient to break the seals.

 _Six._

Until now.

 _Sev— there!?_

Hiruzen whipped the Adamantine Staff at the source of sudden, demented laughter, and turned in time to see the impact fling Naruto back into the bole of a massive tree, wood splintering as his bone-white, luminescent form left a deep, steaming crater before he dropped to the ground with a sickening crunch. Hiruzen continued counting.

 _Eight._

The Hokage paused for a moment, narrowed eyes watching to see if the boy would rise. His suspicions were confirmed when Naruto's head snapped up, predatory eyes regaining their focus and mouth stretching into a bloodthirsty grin. He sprang to his feet in a single movement, then began to prowl in a circle, eyes never leaving the Third's.

 _Nine._

The battle-drunk immortal gathered a bundle of loose threads and twisted them into a vicious, tail-like spine. It swayed and darted about like a snake, seemingly independent from the boy whose power created it, then struck at the old, weak man who dared to defy the ultimate power.

 _Ten._

Mid-assault, Naruto faltered, eyes losing their vicious, predatory glint and a confused frown replacing his bloodthirsty grin. Sudden recognition marred his otherwise smooth features, and he made as if to speak. Before he could, however, the glowing threads receded from his skin, and he sagged as if under a great weight, before falling forward.

Itachi was there in an instant, materializing from the shadows and catching him easily. As he hoisted the boy's slack form over his shoulder, he turned to face the Hokage. As he approached, Hiruzen could see the points of senbon needles protruding from the Genin's arms.

"I see you've picked up some new skills. Why senbon?" the older ninja inquired.

"Given the unique circumstances of my sole long-term mission, I felt it was necessary to expand my repertoire beyond conventional assassination tools and techniques. Rarely it is that a true ninja must merely disable a target," the Uchiha prodigy replied, tone frosty as ever.

"Indeed, though you've shown yourself to be quite capable in the past. In any case, I think it's time we returned our young friend to his teammates; I must speak with Special Jonin Mitarashi about her reckless treatment of one of Konoha's strategic assets."

Itachi's only response was the barest of nods.

"Ah…Lord Hokage?" a hesitant voice called from the shadows. Tenten emerged timidly. "What was that?"

"Chill out, Tenten. It's just Naruto flyin' off the handle. Again." Sasuke's irritated voice replied as he emerged, batting aside branches and swatting insects.

"Losing his cool to the point of fully unleashing his chakra is _not_ just a simple flare of temper, Sasuke. Even so, what a brilliant display of raw strength. It seems my fate is to train even harder than I ever thought possible if I am to surpass my nemesis!" Neji declared, ducking under a branch as it swung back after Sasuke's passing.

The three of them stood (in varying degrees of surprise) before the Hokage and Naruto's bodyguard.

"Where is your sensei?" the Hokage queried.

"She's still hiding in the trees," Itachi answered. "Apparently, she's attempting to delay facing reprimand as long as possible."

"Anko. I warned you this would happen if you weren't careful," Hiruzen intoned.

"But it was _frickin' cool._ I mean, I wasn't so sure about having him on my team at first, but after a display like that, whew! I mean, just send us on big, destructive missions, point him at the enemy, and BAM, instant chaos! Not to mention his shirt got destroyed, and he's got some _major_ eye-candy hidden under there."

"Itachi."

"Yes, Lord Hokage."

"Ow—what the hell! Get off me, you asshole! Gah—your hands are cold! Fine, fine ,I'll come out, just stop touching me!"

A disheveled Anko reluctantly descended from the branch she was hiding on. Itachi followed more sedately, not a hair out of place.

"Have you learned your lesson?" asked the Hokage.

"Feh. Yes."

"What lesson did you learn?"

"Don't get caugh—"

" _Anko…_ "

"Fine. Don't deliberately antagonize the twelve-year-old who could vaporize Konoha."

"Good. Also, I'm assigning you D-ranks for the next six months."

"The hell you are, old man!"

CHAPTER END


	8. Routine

_**The First C-Rank**_

"Status, 'to?" Anko's voice crackled in Naruto's earpiece.

"…" He grunted inaudibly, shifting in his seat on the rearmost wagon.

The psychotic jonin's irritated twitch was visible across the caravan. " _Wake up,_ you bastard!"

"…All clear, Anko-chan," the blond responded, his lazily amused grin audible across the connection. "And my parents were married, by the way."

"All clear my ass…" Sasuke grumbled from his flanking position in the treetops.

"And a fine ass it must be, given how time Tenten spends staring at it," Neji quipped.

The aforementioned brunette popped a flashbang from her flanking position opposite Sasuke.

" _7 hells, Tenten!_ Why the _eyes?!"_ Neji groaned from his newfound place in the dirt, clutching his eyes.

"I liked you better when you were terrified of our sensei, bright-eyes," the tool-mistress sniped, "Besides, you're exaggerating. If a flashbang would blind you, the sun would make it impossible to use your Byakugan anyway."

"It still _hurts_ …demoness."

"It was supposed to…perv."

Sasuke interjected. "Back on mission, you two. Naruto, quit falling asleep."

"I wasn't asleep—"

" _Like hell you weren't_!" Sasuke and Anko countered in unison.

"…guilty as charged; I did have a clone up, though."

"Better than nothing, but not good enough. Loosen those seals of yours a bit if you have to, but stay sharp," Sasuke admonished.

"Who died and made you squad-leader?"

Sasuke's deadpan silence was tangible.

Tenten cut in. "That would be the captain of the allied squad from three missions ago, remember; the one who actually _didn't_ die, thanks to Anko-sensei's great and glorious lieutenant."

"You saved him by accident; I do the same thing all the time and all I get are reprimands for 'leaving my squad behind' and 'reckless endangerment of mission objectives!'"

"Yeah, that's because you keep falling asleep and getting stabbed, poisoned, or strangled. Need I go on? You're immortal, you don't get brownie points for risking your life."

"Hey, it's not my fault I'm awesome and nobody else can keep up."

"Still, it's _totally_ your fault that you waded through a knee-deep pool of acid trying to find a signed first-edition _Icha Icha_ and wound up two-toned for three weeks because you lost the tan on your legs," Tenten pointed out.

"It's also _completely_ your fault that you spent a month bald after diving into a burning house to retrieve your favorite jacket," Sasuke appended.

"And, of course, let's not forget the incident with the Fire Lady's cat," Neji remarked.

Anko let out a perverse chuckle from her place at the head of the caravan. "No, we couldn't ever forget that little bit of visual paradise…sweet, sweet, exposed skin…"

"Seriously, you promised not to mention that…" Naruto whined.

"No, we promised not to tell anyone else about it," Neji clarified. "It's still perfectly valid ammunition in this fight...and for Anko's 'private time.'"

Anko stilled as her smile took on a decidedly feral overtone. "Hyuuga…you've just earned a free ticket to my poison immunity refresher training."

Neji paled; the rest of the team looked slightly queasy.

 _A/N: I have no idea what I'm doing._


	9. Anticipation

**Stalemate in Wave**

Anko's team sprinted through the sand towards the familiar green leaves of Fire Country, springing lightly into the treetops to take a short rest as they crossed the Wind Country border. They broke formation as each member settled on a branch and fell into a relaxed crouch. Tenten unsealed rations and the team ate quickly before rising to leave.

"Just a moment," Neji interjected, holding out his arm. The others looked at him oddly for a moment, then looked up to see a hawk slowly spiraling down towards them, flaring its wings to land on his arm. He winced as its talons pressed against his pale skin, but braced himself to unfurl the scroll tied to its leg and pass it to Anko.

As she read the message, Anko stiffened and a scowl spread across her face. "We're going to Wave. I'll explain on the way."

As they leapt into motion, the snake-mistress explained. "Gai and his brat hooked up with a chunin for a little 'babysitting' mission last week; apparently, a bridge-builder named Tazuna. There was a minor altercation with a pair of missing-chunin in Fire on the way and Gai had a run-in with the Demon of the Bloody Mist on arrival in Wave. He's fine, but his subordinate took some hits and is out for the count."

"What's our strategy?" asked Sasuke.

"Our orders are to support as necessary, but it'd be a crying shame if we didn't have a little fun on the way. I could run a quick little assassination to take care of the root problem right away, but I've decided you brats are going to get a little experience with frontline combat. We'll work out the details when we get there. Wave is three hours out at a dead sprint anyways, so quit yapping and _run_ , brats!"

The team arrived in Wave as the remnants of Zabuza's infernal mist finally faded to reveal the wan fall sunlight. Slowing to a brisk jog as they approached the shore, they carefully scanned the beached fishing boats dotting the sand, searching for any hint of an enemy ambush. Moving silently from the water to the rooftops, the four genin followed their sensei along the skyline, continuing to reconnoiter as they approached the unfinished bridge. Anko stopped where concrete and steel met dirt road.

Without turning, she signed to Neji. ' _Eyes-only. Sabotage?'_

Veins stood out on the pale-eyed boy's temples as he scanned the area, receding after a moment. He signed his response. ' _Clear._ '

Anko relaxed minutely. "Alright, we'll do a more thorough sweep later, but this'll do for now. There's not room at the client's house, but we can set up camp here. Naruto, you're coming with me to rendezvous with Team Theta. Neji, put up a continuous visual sweep for as long as you can, then sweep intermittently every five minutes. Sasuke, get a fire started. Tenten, work with him to put together a proper meal after you get our sleeping arrangements sorted."

Tenten nodded and began unsealing gear as Neji's Byakugan made a resurgence. Sasuke waved brightly as Anko and Naruto turned and leapt into the trees before he turned into the underbrush to start his hunt for firewood.

A few seconds after their departure, Anko glanced toward her blond companion. "Alright. Naruto, you're probably wondering why I brought _you_ to the rendezvous instead of Neji."

The sleeper cast a lazy glance her way. "Mmm."

"I understated the damage Gai's teammate took; I also failed to mention that it was the chunin rather than his apprentice who was disabled. You're coming with me to watch my back while I try to patch him up; are you you feel up to unlocking those seals of yours?"

Naruto seemed to wake fully for a moment. "You know what you're asking?"

"After our first training session, It'd be pretty senseless not to," Anko affirmed, a mirthless smile spreading across her face.

Naruto scratched his head, grimacing. "…that's kinda what I was afraid of. It's not going to be like that this time."

"I'm aware; the Hokage explained it. Quit stalling and get on with it," the jounin commanded.

The blond rolled his eyes as he pulled back his sleeves to expose the needle-like lines of his control seals, dragging a finger along each one. "Fine, fine— _ah!_ "

As his seals, Naruto let out a sharp gasp and nearly stumbled as the faint light of overflowing red-gold chakra began to seep from his skin and his drowsiness burned away in the heat of his stimulated senses. "That…hah…gets stronger every time…Anko-sensei."

Taking a few heaving breaths to steady himself, he straightened, stiffening abruptly as his eyes fell on Anko's attire, his face flushing as he finally noticed her physique.

Anko quirked her head, then followed his gaze to her…assets, and smiled dryly. "I appreciate the flattery, brat, but you're 13. We've got a mission to do right now, so focus."

"Right, right, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" The blond picked up the pace and Anko quickened her step to follow.

A minute later, the blond fell back sheepishly. "I…uh…don't actually know where we're going."

The fishnet-clad jonin snickered. "It sure took you long enough to figure it out, hyper-brat! Follow the man with the map…woman with the map… screw it, alliteration."

With Anko leading the way, they reached the client's home in just a few minutes. Sliding to a stop in front of the door, they were greeted by the green eyesore of Gai's signature spandex jumpsuit.

He grinned and gave them a thumbs-up. "My comrades, you have arrived with the speed of YOUTH! Such astounding—"

Anko cut him off flatly.

"The report mentioned an injury."

Gai's smile fell and he adopted a somber tone. "Well…yes. The youthful Hyuuga Sota was injured in our skirmish with the Demon Brothers yesterday. It was just a scratch, but he began showing signs of poisoning and collapsed at the end of our fight with Zabuza earlier today. Our opponent did not escape unscathed, however…I suspect we have some time before we must concern ourselves with reprisal."

Anko didn't idly wait while the elder jounin spoke, eyes examining the house and the surrounding area. She considered for a moment before speaking.

"Alright. Naruto…that barrier you've been working on, get it anchored around the house and ready to cast as soon as possible. I'll be inside mixing up antitoxin. Signal if you need me. Gai, if you've got a plan, talk while I work."

Naruto nodded sharply. "Aye aye, Captain Anko!"

As his leader and the taijutsu expert moved their discussion indoors, Naruto reached into his pack and withdrew a handful of simple sticks, grooved whorls etched into the surface of each one. Strolling around the house, he carefully planted them upright in a precise array. Finishing, he leapt into a nearby tree to examine his work. Seen from above, the array formed a long, tightly-wound spiral. Naruto hummed speculatively, hopping down to tweak a few sticks' positions, then stood in the center of the array, closed his eyes and pointed his splayed palm at the sky. Silence reigned for a moment. Then, a quiet rush of air swirled in the clearing, thin wisps of cloudy, pale vacuum tracing the shape of the array. The rushing increased, air hissing as glowing chakra concentrated in Naruto's palm, a steady orb of golden light casting stark shadows. As the light seemed ready to outshine the sun, Naruto's eyes flicked open, a shadowy, feral slit in a circle of luminescent blue, and he slammed his palm against the earth, driving the sun-bright orb into the array. A wave of light pulsed outward, igniting the swirled etching in each rod before settling into a soft amber glow just under the surface.

Settling into a predatory crouch, he awaited his sensei's return.

Over the next few days, Sota's condition worsened. Gai and Lee ultimately chose to evac him to Konoha for treatment. Anko called her squad together to discuss their plans for the day.

"Alright, the week is up, so it's time for strategy. We'll pair off; Naruto and I will take the bridge, Sasuke, Neji, and Tenten will guard the house—Naruto has a key you can use to lock down the barrier. Naruto, you're going to be the rock-hard foundation of my defense and provide ranged support as much as possible; I'll take offense and let 'em try some of my latest cocktails."

Naruto still took a moment to jerk awake. "zzz…huh? Oh, yeah, sure; I'll be your impenetrable shield…is what _Sasuke_ would probably say."

"Lazy brat…Neji, use those eyes of yours to track the enemy; keep the team posted on enemy movements and positions."

"Aye aye, captain! I'll be your eyes in the sky!" The excitable Hyguuga snapped a salute.

"Much better. Naruto, be a bit more enthusiastic! Tenten, focus on trapping the area around the house in case you have to leave in a hurry. Emergency authorization for Class B explosive tags."

She nodded, determination flickering in her eyes. "Yes ma'am. They'll still be picking fleshy bits out of my traps a year from now."

"Sasuke, use ninjutsu to stall the enemy and keep those traps intact. And take this; you might need it." The fishnet-clad jounin tossed Sasuke a coil of ninja wire.

"Stall with ninjutsu. Got it." The hyper-focused Uchiha snagged the wire out of the air without blinking and stowed it with his other gear.

"Alright, let's go!"


	10. First Blood

**The Wave Siege, Part 2**

 _ **A/N:**_ _I mistakenly uploaded the wrong document for this chapter a couple days ago. It was missing about 400 words. This is the right version and should run up to the end of the Zabuza/Haku fight. Also, sorry about how short these chapters are. I'm in my final semester at school, so I'm busy as hell right now._

Anko and Naruto escorted Tazuna to the bridge. In stark contrast to their friendly, gregarious attitude over the previous week, both were silent and focused as they scanned for any sign of the enemy in the shadowed depths of the forest and the shallows of the murky water gently lapping the shoreline. The spiral seals on Naruto's forehead flickered with gilt brilliance, barely hidden under the concealing bangs of his long yellow hair as he buzzed with energy next to his taller companion. Anko had left her overcoat behind, substituting with a simple copy of standard ANBU gear, dull armor bound with grey cloth to suppress clinks and glints.

Tazuna seemed unnerved by the abrupt change in attitude, casting nervous glances in her direction and taking frequent gulps from his flask. Anko thought it was understandable; civilians and non-Leaf ninja rarely understood Konoha's need for compartmentalization. When in a safe environment, Leaf ninja gave themselves reasons to fight by building close bonds with their allies and friends…but in combat, Leaf ninja could be (and were) as ruthless and cutthroat as those of any other village.

Wisps of slowly thickening mist licked around the pylons and beams of the unfinished bridge as they arrived. Naruto moved back to stand near Tazuna, sealing-sticks finding their way into his hands as he charged them with chakra and embedded them in the surface of the bridge, the seemingly haphazard preparation an inversion of his careful, orderly precision back at the house.

Anko stepped forward, steps careful and deliberate, until the mist cleared for a moment to reveal the prone forms of Tazuna's workers, some purpled with massive bruises, others pierced by needles and trickling blood from their wounds. Drawing a kunai, she drew on her chakra, using one of her former master's signature techniques to taste the air with a forked tongue.

Zabuza's dark, rasping chuckle echoed from the void, seemingly both everywhere and nowhere. "Haha…I thought the Blue Beast would have stuck around. How…disappointing. Do you think you can handle a Demon, little snake? What's your specialty, girl? Seduction? Infiltration? Hardly enough to handle a master of silent killing, a frontline combat specialist!"

Anko said nothing; she simply drew a second kunai and settled into a tense crouch.

"Not going to play? Well, I suppose it's only to be expected of someone who hasn't bloodied their way into my Bingo Book."

Anko remained silent, then blinked. She cocked her head to listen carefully for her opponent.

—CLANG! Zabuza found himself unexpectedly matching strength with his opponent, his Head-Cleaver caught in the intersection of Anko's kunai. They locked eyes for a moment, then the slight Konoha jounin flipped over his sword and kicked it against the ground, slashing at his face with one wickedly keen blade as he jerked back, trying to regain control of his monstrous sword. She barely drew blood, a single droplet running down from the tip of her blade and leaving a thin red line across the Mist Demon's cheek. He countered with a lightning-fast horizontal strike she barely ducked under, losing the tips of her hair as it trailed behind her quicksilver movement to stab at his feet with her other blade before she flickered away to regain distance.

Eyes on her opponent, she pocketed one kunai and started making hand-seals as her opponent charged. As she dodged, a cloud of smoke obscured her form and where there was one jounin, there were now two. Continuing to mirror each other's movement, they faded into shadow, flickering into the mist.

Anko's voice echoed just as Zabuza's had only moments before. "Poor demon, stumbling around trying to catch a quick little snake. Too bad she's not in your little Bingo Book; some people don't feel the need to show off as much as you do. Care for a hint?"

Zabuza huffed and leaned on his sword, surprised at the toll the exertion of their skirmish had taken on his body; weakened as it was by a week of paralysis and years of life as a missing-nin, he'd expected to do better. As his strength failed to return after several moments, he let out a hoarse, despairing gurgle that could almost pass for a laugh. "Ha. I know who you are, little snake. No photo, but there's no questioning the effects of this poison. The Kiss of Death; courtesy of the Leaf's Midnight Viper. The top-killing member of the Faceless. At least I fell to a real ninj—" and here he coughed weakly and grasped at his throat before collapsing.

She allowed her clone to fade into view and approach the fallen missing-nin. It crouched, as if to check his pulse.

 _CRACK!_

An icy needle evaporated from the cracked concrete as Anko's clone shimmered and disappeared around the steaming hole ripped through its chest. Hidden in the slowly fading fog, she sprinted back toward Naruto.

More needles followed her out as she burst from the fog, trailing wisps of vapor as she vaulted, twisting to dodge a second volley, then a third. As she sketched a serpentine path toward Naruto and Tazuna, she glanced back to see an androgynous figure, eyes shining coldly through the holes of a hunter-nin mask and arm outstretched, icy mist creeping around sandaled feet as another volley of needles crystallized in the surrounding air.

Tearing her gaze from the unknown enemy, Anko put on a last burst of speed before she skidded to a stop within the bounds of Naruto's seal.

"Barrier now, brat!" she growled.

Naruto nodded. "Aye aye, sensei."

He clapped his palms together in a hand seal, then clawed the air with his open hand. Light traced the path his fingers traveled, seeping from the air itself like blood from a wound. Slowly, it began to circle the trio, swirling around the seal-sticks in a web of red, gold, and black threads entwined in a slowly rising cage of pure chakra. As it rose into a patchwork dome, Naruto crouched, palms out to either side, shone with power, and _pushed_. The threads abruptly thickened, bleeding into one another to form a solid barrier of translucent energy.

Outside the barrier, their enemy watched impassively and an ever-growing field of needles materialized from the last remnants of Zabuza's mist technique and the first hints of drizzling rain.

Abruptly, the needles surrounding the mysterious hunter-nin dissolved into thin air, even as the icy mist swirling around the cold-eyed figure's feet thickened. Slowly and precisely, delicate fingers clasped and twisted in the seals of an unknown technique. Frost began to crystallize, spreading along the bridge in a fractal pattern centered on the glowing orb of Naruto's barrier, filaments creeping up along the surface to nip at the eddies and whorls, hissing into steam as they made contact. Probing for weakness and finding none, they began to expand into a second shell around the barrier, coalescing into a pale, pristine globe.

The hunter-nin paused for a moment, ice-cold eyes softening with brief hesitation, before hardening with renewed resolve. Hands twisted viciously into a final hand-seal, holding it for a moment before surging forward as if casting fistfuls of dust, reaching towards the bleached sphere with morbid purpose.

Inside the barrier, Anko and Naruto took a moment to notice the subtle result of the technique, as Tazuna began to shiver. The air inside the barrier cooled rapidly until the bridge-builder shook ever more violently and even the two ninja had to warm themselves, spending more and more chakra as the temperature fell below freezing, then continued to drop.

"We can't keep this up, sensei," Naruto finally said.

Anko retorted, irked. "Well, I don't s—"

"He is correct," the hunter-nin interrupted, having drawn close to the barrier. "You will perish for the crime of ending Zabuza-sama. He was precious to me, and you have destroyed him."

"How is that fair?! He was going to kill Tazuna, and he _tried_ to kill Anko!" Naruto snapped.

"Then they should have felt privileged to fall for the sake of Zabuza-sama's worthy dream." The hunter-nin formed a hand-seal, and the temperature stopped dropping for a moment. "…There is still time, you know. You did not touch my master, child of the Leaf; you and your team may go, if you wish. You will have to leave the bridge-builder and your sensei behind, however. I will not allow Zabuza-sama's dream to die here, and I will not leave the crime of your teacher unpunished."

Naruto twitched for a moment with incredulous rage. "Hell no! Anko, Sasuke, and the rest of my team…even Tazuna…they are all precious to me, and I _will_ protect them from you!"

"In that case… I will freeze my heart…and yours as well." Another hand-seal, and the temperature resumed its steady fall even faster than before.

The temperature within the barrier continued to fall. Tazuna's breathing slowed, then stopped. It was followed shortly by Anko's, and then finally, after nearly five minutes, by Naruto's. As he lost consciousness, the fiery barrier collapsed.

With the last remnants of his fading vision, he saw the white orb crumble as the clack of the hunter-nin's approaching sandals rang in his ears.


	11. Casualties

**The Wave Siege: Part 3**

 _A/N: MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH._

Sasuke was frustrated. To be fair, this wasn't uncommon; in contrast to the rather lethargic nature of Naruto's sealed-persona, Sasuke positively burst with ambitious vigor, so any time things quieted down too much he started to crave action. Of course, in this context, he knew it was technically a good thing that he and his teammates hadn't seen signs of the enemy near Tazuna's home, but that didn't change how _boring_ guard duty was.

Neji was less frustrated. After all, he was trained in an abundance of Hyuuga meditative techniques which permitted him the full use of his Byakugan while allowing him to rest. Even so, those who knew him (such as his teammates of a half-year) could tell that Sasuke's tense, restless chakra presence subtly chafed him.

Tenten was frankly relieved things were calm. Though Neji's eyes would give them plenty of warning in the event of an infiltration, and Sasuke's power was substantial, she found herself acutely aware of the fact that they were a pair of genin and a single chunin defending against entirely unknown opposition.

The sky brightened as they passed one hour, then two. Neji's eyes began to strain after such prolonged use, and he reverted to making brief sweeps every ten seconds. Even this was an astonishing feat that demonstrated the unique power of his Byakugan and his sizable chakra reserves; most Hyuuga would have been hard-pressed to hold a constant scan for a third of that time, let alone retain the ability to fight. On one such sweep, he broke free from his meditative pose on the roof and leapt down between his teammates.

"Contacts. They have this residence surrounded. I see a short, ugly man in a business suit; I assume this is the 'Gato' Tazuna mentioned. Approximately 50 targets, all wearing armor and bearing swords; they don't carry the standard of any known samurai clan; I assume they're ronin; their chakra signatures are too strong to be simple swordsmen."

Sasuke bounced on the balls of his feet and rolled his shoulders as he spoke. "Alright, let the traps do their thing. Tenten and I will thin their ranks with projectiles and jutsu. Neji, you keep an eye on our flanks; if they start getting too close, activate the barrier."

The pale Hyuuga and nimble weapons-mistress nodded in assent. Neji knelt at the seal, palms flat and veins bulging around his Byakugan. Tenten pulled a handful of scrolls from her pouch and leapt into the trees.

Sasuke himself, Sharingan spinning fiercely, slipped into the underbrush and took hold of the loops of wire he'd laid over the previous week. Watching the rustling overgrowth, his eyes took in every detail and betrayed his enemies' movements. A slight tug on one of his wires prompted a brief flare of chakra, followed by a distant explosion. A few moments later, pink mist settled on the leaves, wetting them with dark, red blood. A nearby bush twitched, and he flung a kunai, extracting a pained, gurgling howl from the hidden rogue samurai as his armored body fell into the open, dead. Sasuke nearly lost a finger when a vicious tug snapped his entire wire network taut, barely extracting his hands before the loops closed with a sharp _twang_. Summoning a wave of chakra, he poured flame down the wires and the forest exploded, screams filling the air and viscera littering the exposed roots of the trees. Leaping back towards the house with a mighty burst of chakra-assisted effort, he twisted in midair to narrowly avoid a flickering sword, red wetting his blue jacket as the tip scraped along his ribs. He hissed in pain as he landed, turning to roast his opponent with an overwhelming, white-hot fireball. Retreating nearly back to the seal where Neji still crouched, he drew a kunai with one hand and a trio of shuriken with the other. A full dozen ronin pushed through the trees, grim scowls and hard eyes burning into the pair of Leaf ninja as they stepped carefully, looking for traps they couldn't see. One lost a leg as an oversized kunai flew from a sealing tag pasted to a rock. Another found himself immolated in a gout of fire from a specialized Fire Release tag of Sasuke's own design. Five others, by turns, died in devastating explosions as they stepped on explosive tags layered just under the surface with the Hiding Like a Mole technique.

Finally, the remaining five had just barely reached the border of the seal when Tenten silently descended from the trees behind them and slit their throats one by one, lowering them silently to the earth with strength belying her stature. Taking the opportunity to rendezvous with her teammates, she drew a kunai and took up a stance next to Sasuke.

"Neji? What's our status?" Sasuke asked.

"I think we're clear, I'm not seeing any hos—" _SQUELCH._

"Neji!" Tenten screamed.

She watched helplessly as the white-eyed genin fell with a murmuring wheeze, a Kiri-style kunai lodged his throat. As his blood leaked onto the seal, the glowing barrier rose to intercept a volley of similar blades. A pair of bulky Mist hunter-nin sprinted from the trees, speeding toward the rapidly-closing holes in the barrier. The apparent leader made it halfway through when the barrier closed around his torso, severing him into two steaming, gory segments. The other screamed in horror and pounded a fist against the barrier, rearing back with a pained grunt when it burned him. He retreated several meters before turning back with a murderous glare.

"Damn you, Leaf demons. Your profane bloodlines can't keep this barrier up forever. I'll be waiting; when you least expect it, the barrier will fall and I'll be here to KILL YOU!"

Bloody tears trickled from Sasuke's eyes as he returned the hunter-nin's glare with bloody interest. "You should hope this barrier never falls. You call me a demon—I'd like to show you just how right you are, assassin."

Tearing his stinging eyes from his target, the Uchiha turned back to his teammates to see Neji sitting up, coughing blood as Tenten urgently taped a thick bandage against his throat. When she finished, she and Sasuke each took one of the Hyuuga's arms and helped him limp weakly into the house, blood dripping from his lips with each wheezing breath. They laid him carefully on his side, placing his head to allow blood to drain out of his airway, then watched him as he slowly drifted off.

When their wounded teammate was finally asleep, Sasuke hesitated for a moment, then stood. "I'll take the first watch; stay here and keep an eye on him."

Tenten gave him a weary nod as the adrenaline of the past few minutes started to wear off. "Ok."

As he walked outside, Sasuke was surprised to see his blonde teammate standing over the body of the hunter-nin just outside the barrier.

The red-eyed Uchiha cast a mournful look at Naruto "That one was supposed to be _mine_ , Naruto."

"Oh, lay off. He's not dead yet—not completely, anyway, and I know you wanted to teach him a lesson. I'm not an _idiot_." Naruto yawned. "Man, the last few hours have really taken it outta me…I could use a nap, you know?"

"Whatever…how'd things go at the bridge?" Sasuke cocked an inquisitive eyebrow."

Naruto scuffed his sandals and looked down in embarrassment. "Well…"

 _2 Hours Earlier…_

Blearily, Naruto became aware of a painful, restrictive pressure on his wrists and ankles and a prickling burn in his extremities. Frost flaked away from his eyelids as he cracked his eyes open, light lancing out into his head in painful spikes. He let out a pained groan and tried to raise a hand to cover his face, only to find his hands bound together. Instinctively, he strained to move for a moment, but gave up after the ninja-wire binding his limbs started to cut into the skin.

"Ah, hello. I am Haku. I apologize for the circumstances of our meeting earlier. I was quite…put out…by my master's condition."

Naruto's eyes snapped open, taking in the soft, feminine features of his captor only a moment before he finally connected the gentle, polite words of greeting to the sharp, icy monotone of the hunter-nin. He tried to speak, but found his mouth too dry and descended into a fit of coughing instead. After recovering, and drinking a bit of water, courtesy of his androgynous warden, he tried again.

"Why am I tied up? You wouldn't take care of someone you planned to kill…and what'd you do with—" and here he yawned, losing focus for a moment. "—the others?"

Haku grimaced. "I… _intended_ to kill them. After disabling you, however, I returned to examine Zabuza-sama. Auspiciously, your sensei's poison is non-lethal. As an aside, I apologize for the violence of my response; I was understandably distraught. Unfortunately, the bridge-builder is going to be missing a few fingers. Civilians don't handle the cold of my _Ice Release: Hell Freezes Over_ technique well. In any case, it's surprising that you woke up so soon. I expected your sensei to wake up first, being a jounin, and I hadn't expected that for at least a full day."

"But why did you let him live? Didn't you have a mission from – _yawn_ —Gato?"

"Yes. But as I finished giving Zabuza the antidote I found in your sensei's supplies, the uncouth creature appeared with a horde of brutes and attempted to I assumed he was no longer interested in paying us, and proceeded to exact retribution for such a betrayal. As I said…" Haku's icy glare made a brief resurgence "…civilians don't handle _Hell Freezes Over_ well. Unfortunately, Gato managed to escape in the chaos, but after that…well, our missions no longer conflict. As for your earlier question, you're tied up to keep you from running off or trying to kill me. I feel responsible to mend the damage my technique cost, but I would prefer to keep things peaceful."

"'K. If everything's ok, I'm going back to sleep." Naruto promptly passed out.

The second time Naruto woke up, it was to find himself unbound and staring into the black eyes of the Demon of the Hidden Mist. He growled. Naruto blinked slowly, then yawned. "—Who're you, again?"

Zabuza threw his head back and laughed in a peculiar rasping cackle. "Hah! the Leaf still isn't giving you baby-ninja Bingo Books; what a riot!" He hardened his gaze. "But I guess you're not really a proper baby-ninja, are ya? Not if you can put up a barrier that would hold up against my Haku's strongest technique for nearly five minutes. Even _I_ don't have the kind of chakra it would take to block it outright for that long. Hey…brat. Brat. WAKE UP, YOU LITTLE SHITSTAIN!"

Naruto laboriously hauled his eyes open again. "Mm. You got somethin' important to say? 'Cause right now I'm just hearin' a lotta jabber about stuff I already know. Get t' the point."

"Well, while we're on the topic of that barrier, you might want to hear that your friends back at the bridge-builder's house decided to put yours up, since Gato came back with a regular army of new thugs. Ronin, this time. Not the pansies Haku slaughtered, no way. Ro-fucking-nin, you hear. Wandering samurai? Not the nicest folks, brat. You might want to see about waking your sensei up pretty soon."

"Why's it gotta be _my_ job? 'M so tired…" Naruto yawned again.

"Your sensei, your job. I'm going to find out just how long I can spend killing Gato, and then I'm outta here." Zabuza's eyes narrowed and his mouth twisted into a bloody, mirthless grin under his bandages. "See you 'round…ninja-brat." He flickered away in a trail of mist.

Naruto closed his eyes, leaving one subtly cracked to watch for Zabuza's return, then sat up slowly, holding his head when the movement triggered a wave of dizziness. Taking stock of his surroundings, he noted a campfire and pack; Anko lay in an unceremonious heap against it. Looking at the sun, he estimated he'd been unconscious for about an hour. Painstakingly climbing to his feet, joints cracking and still shivering slightly from the aftereffects of Haku's ultimate technique, he tried to wake Anko; first poking her with a stick from a safe distance, then escalating to shaking her, and finally going so far as to pinch her side. Apart from a slight groan, he received no response. He took the next few moments to write a note and sketch a quick barrier seal around her sleeping form, then extinguished the fire and took to the treetops to get his bearings. It only took a moment to identify the distant silhouette of Tazuna's bridge; Naruto guessed at the direction of the bridge-builder's home, deactivated his restraint seals, and flickered off through the branches. He arrived at the house just in time to see Neji fall, blood dribbling from the wound in his throat before a Mist hunter-nin was bisected by the barrier. His blood burned in his veins as the remaining ninja insulted his teammates' bloodlines, and he swung down from the trees silently. Settling into a feral crouch, he padded towards the deranged hunter-nin, creeping up behind him and striking at the man's temple with the butt of his kunai. The man went limp and Naruto barely caught him before he fell into one of Tenten's remaining traps. He grimaced and crouched, turning the kunai in his hand to make better use of the blade before slashing the unconscious ninja's Achilles tendons; first one, then the other.

 _Seems pretty violent…_

"Huh?" Naruto jerked upright, looking around for the speaker. "Who's that?"

No one responded, but the creaking of the door opening caught Naruto's ear and he turned to see his teammate emerge from the house with murder in his eyes.

"…and so Anko should wake up later, and here we are," Naruto finished.

Sasuke's Sharingan had slowly faded over the course of Naruto's narration, but they returned in force as he nodded and turned his gaze to the limp form at Naruto's feet. "Alright, get this damn barrier down so I can get my hooks in that bastard. We're going to…have a talk."

 _A/N: 2400 words this time; about 1000 more than last chapter. I might, maybe, have a little bit better idea where this story is going to go from here, so consider this a taste of what's to come. No promises, but I'm hoping to get a bit more material out over spring break (mid-March, probably). Also, FFN keeps doing weird things to my section breaks, so if you see continuity-weirdness, there was probably supposed to be one there._


	12. Release

**Chapter 12**

Sasuke and Naruto sprinted through the treetops toward the hidden camp where Anko still lay unconscious, having left Tenten behind to monitor Neji's condition. Sasuke's mood had warmed a bit after interrogating the hunter-nin and discovering evidence of significant brainwashing. Naruto, on the other hand, positively boiled with cold rage, and even his chakra burned a cloudy amber-yellow.

The two landed in the camp, falling into ready crouches and scanning the area before relaxing. Sasuke took a moment to examine Naruto's seal-work before motioning him to dismantle the barrier.

As the translucent gold shield receded into the delicate scrollwork of Naruto's seal-sticks, it revealed Anko's skin, pale and clammy. Sasuke took one look at her and placed a hand on her forehead, using his thumb to pry an eye open before activating his Sharingan.

"I'm seeing much brain activity. I'd prefer to let her rest, but we need to wake her right now, or we might not have the chance later. Ideas?"

Naruto didn't speak, but leveled an intense stare at Anko's prone form and delivering a sharp spike of killing intent. She jerked awake immediately and tried to roll to her feet, but stumbled as her legs collapsed.

"Ah, sensei! Welcome back to the land of the living," Sasuke quipped. "If you wouldn't mind laying back down, I need to finish my examination."

She complied, but exerted the not-insignificant effort of composing a sentence, groggy and slurred. "What…what happened? I was fighting Zabuza, but then…it was so cold."

Sasuke's Sharingan roved over each limb and major organ in turn, stopping periodically to take note of specific details, before he spoke. "Well, it looks like you've suffered minor frostbite across most of your skin, and you nearly died of hypothermia. I can't think of any techniques that would cause this, though…Naruto?"

Naruto, crouched nearby and staring daggers into the fire, took a moment to reply. "I was still a bit fuzzy at the time, but when I woke up, Zabuza and the hunter-nin—his name is apparently Haku, by the way—were there. Haku called the technique he used an _Ice Release_ technique. I guess it's a bloodline."

"I suppose so," Sasuke agreed. "In any case, the house was attacked by a group of ronin led by Gato approximately two hours after you departed for the bridge. We fought them off successfully, but as we finished them off, two _actual_ hunter-nin arrived and surprised us. Neji suffered a throat wound. It's probably superficial, but he's going to be out of commission for some time regardless. One of the nin was killed as he attempted to infiltrate the barrier. Naruto incapacitated the other as Tenten and I treated Neji. I interrogated him and have some interesting details to share." He gave Anko a meaningful glance.

"What're you looking at me for? Spit it out!" Anko barked.

"Ah, back to normal already, I see." Sasuke allowed himself a small smile, then continued. "The ninja I interrogated was a Special Jounin of Kiri's hunter-nin corps. His name was Ryuda, and as a hunter nin, he had standing orders to acquire any Sharingan he came across at any cost. Interestingly, he also showed evidence of Sharingan-planted compulsions. He also provided a fairly clear understanding of the political situation in Mist at the moment, but that's less important than his main mission: to investigate the disappearance of a number of Mist genin teams investigating Gato's headquarters. The Mizukage seemed to think they were deserting at the prospect of easy money."

Anko grimaced. "So you're telling me Gato might have a shit-ton more Mist assholes hanging around?"

Sasuke nodded. "Between three and five teams, yes. Not including Zabuza, of course."

Naruto interjected: "Actually, I think they're on our side. Zabuza and Haku, I mean. Gato showed up with a mob of thugs and tried to kill them so he wouldn't have to pay for the mission. When they left, just before I had my rendezvous with Sasuke, Zabuza mentioned going to get revenge."

Anko quirked an eyebrow. "Weird. I wouldn't say he's on _our_ side in as many words, but you're right, I guess he won't be a problem anymore."

"Regardless," Sasuke said, standing and dusting himself off, "we should unite with Neji and Tenten back at the house. It's more defensible than this camp, and Anko has more medical background than any of us. Neji is going to need it."

TPS-TPS-TPS-TPS (blah blah this is a break, sue me)

As the trio returned to the house, they were greeted by the sound of Tenten's irate tones admonishing Neji for having the temerity to get himself injured.

"—all-seeing-eyes my ass! An Academy student could've dodged that knife with their eyes closed; you're telling me you _missed it_?! You could've _died_ , you asshole! Don't give me that look—and holy crap don't try to _speak,_ are you _nuts_? You just got _stabbed in the throat_ —do I need to knock you out? Don't try me, Hyuuga, I _will_ do it."

As they walked through the door, Tenten looked up from where she was re-bandaging Neji's slowly oozing throat wound and flashed a relieved smile. "Anko-sensei, Naruto! You have no idea how glad I am to see you're alright. Now, could one of you convince this overconfident ass to lie down while our illustrious teacher takes a look at him?"

Anko ruffled Tenten's hair, shaking a few strands loose from their tightly-wound knots. "Alright, weapons-girl, get outta the way." Tenten quickly complied.

Anko turned a cooler eye to Neji. "Now, I'm not trained for this, so it's probably going to hurt, but it's the best we've got right now, so hold still." She raised a hand, and a green glow flickered into being, arcs of viridian light crackling along her palm. A troubled frown darkened her face as she held it against the white-eyed boy's wounded throat.

"Alright, I've got good news and bad news. The good news is, I can heal you right now and you'll be walking around like it never happened. The bad news is, your vocal cords are shredded. You'll not be able to manage any sound louder than a whisper for a very long time, if ever. Now, I'm going to heal you, and then you'll take a couple minutes to absorb this fairly life-changing development while I chat with your teammates about our next steps. Take it as a lesson: on missions, the worst can happen at any time. Pay attention."

As Anko finished her lecture, Tenten's excited voice echoed from outside the house. "Sensei, you've got to come see this!"

Anko turned to leave, then looked back at Neji "I'll be back in a minute. Take a moment, alright?"

When she walked out the door, Naruto was still collecting his sealing-sticks from the deactivated array around the house while Sasuke kept watch. Tenten stood over the half-corpse of the first hunter-nin, having removed his mask to reveal a covered eye and a shock of gray hair. "Sensei, do you recognize this guy? It's _Ao_. Ao of Kiri! Naruto killed a jounin; and not just any jounin, the _Byakugan Killer_. The Hyuuga put a bounty of 2 million _ryo_ on his head after he killed Hiashi's cousin, a Main Branch member, and stole one of his eyes."

"Well, that's pretty impressive. I expect he'll get a promotion out of that one. Anyway, Gato's probably holed up in his headquarters with a bunch of Mist missing-ninja, so we've got a decision to make. Do we continue the mission as, or do we take them out?"

Sasuke tapped a foot and looked pensive. "I vote we take them out. We can't keep letting ourselves get ambushed like this."

Naruto finished collecting his sticks and stowed them in his equipment pouch. "Gato pisses me off. I just wanted an easy C-rank where I could nap, and not only does he have the nerve to send missing-ninja after us, he betrays them afterward. When you pick a side, you stick to it! Let's teach him a lesson."

"You're the captain, sensei," Tenten neatly sidestepped the question. "I'm with you whatever you decide."

Neji walked out of the house and nodded firmly.

"Hey, Hyuuga. What's with the silent act?" Sasuke queried.

:My vocal cords were damaged.: The Hyuuga mouthed.

"Oh, tough break," the Uchiha winced. He turned to his teammates. "Uh, guys? Neji can't talk."

Naruto deadpanned. "I never would've guessed."

Tenten was more sympathetic. "It'll heal, right? He'll be able to talk eventually?"

"Unfortunately," Anko drawled, "our young Hyuuga teammate has learned a rather permanent lesson in humility. If it does heal, it's going to take a fair bit more than I; or any other healer in the Leaf, for that matter; can manage. Tsunade might be able to fix it, but she hasn't been seen in Konoha for years. Anyway, we've got consensus. We leave for Gato's headquarters in fifteen minutes. Take the time to gather your weapons and get a bit of rest."

TPS-TPS-TPS-TPS (blah blah this is a break, sue me)

They arrived on the outskirts of Gato's shipping complex, waves lapping gently against the shore. Anko signaled Neji to scan the complex. He held up his open hands: ten fingers, nine fingers…

"Holy shit," Anko breathed, "there're _nineteen_ of the fuckers in there?!"

Neji nodded.

"Well, nothing for it. Brat!" And here she looked at Naruto. "Do you trust me?"

Naruto forgot his rage at Gato for a moment of sheer terror before bolstering his courage enough to jerk his head in something vaguely approximating a nod.

"Well, that's foolish. Neji, Tenten, Sasuke! Back off about 200 meters." Anko watched them sprint back up the beach.

She turned back to Naruto "Close your seals, we need to let the pressure build up a bit."

Naruto did so, sagging with exhaustion as unnatural lethargy overtook his anger. Struggling to keep his eyes open, he looked back at his teacher.

Anko leveled a serious look at her drowsy pupil. "Alright…I'm only going to explain this one time, Naruto. I'm going to throw you into the middle of that room. Just before you land, take your limiters off."

Naruto winced. "Mmm…all the way?"

"Yes. And you're going to have to get yourself under control this time: the Hokage isn't going to be around to stop you." She hesitated for a second. "And…don't get yourself killed, alright?"

"…I _wish_. This is going to _suck,"_ Naruto grumbled. "Just do it. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner things can go back to normal."

Without further ado, Anko grabbed his collar and _hurled_ him at the central compound. She sprinted toward the rest of her team, well away from the blond's landing site. Seeing them look her way with astonishment, Neji's Byakugan straining in the dim light, she shouted.

"Turn those eyes off and look away! This is going to be _bright_!"

Before she reached them, a flash, rivaling sunlight, cast stark shadows across the sand, followed by a deafening _CRACK._ As the flash faded, a firelight glow illuminated the complex, and Anko took only a moment to assure herself of her team's safety before turning to look.

In the distance, Naruto's skin blistered and bubbled as jets of chakra escaped the bypass seals, venting a mixture of corrosive black and blossoming gold in a billowing pillar of pure energy. The stone of the ruined complex glowed cherry-red in a fifteen-meter crater, the center molten to glass beneath the demigod's feet as bloody rings circled his irises.

He inhaled through his nose, taking in the scent of crushed bone and charred flesh with a sense of righteous satisfaction. A groan caught his attention: a bloodied figure rose from the rubble in the outskirts of the complex. Naruto moved toward it, curious. The concrete hissed and deformed under the heat of his bare feet, and the figure whirled in terror.

Naruto's mind flipped from satisfied with victory, but still in control, to utterly feral as the sight of this _monster_ offended his eyes.

" _Ga-to…"_ he growled.

" _Gato…_ " he snarled.

" _GATO!"_ he _roared_ , and cratered the pavement as he exploded into motion, flickering past the bruised crime-lord.

Gato's puzzled look stayed frozen on his face even as his head toppled to the ground, followed shortly by his body.

Anger sated, his consciousness slowly returned and he looked at his body as the last of his armored clothing burned away, leaving the seals on his torso bare to see. Mind strangely clear, he looked for his restraint seals, only to find no trace of them. It only took a moment for him to realize why; without the buffer restraining his chakra, the natural healing of his medical seals regarded the intrusion as foreign and ejected the ink.

Drawing on all the chakra control he had scraped together over the years, he forced the chakra escaping his body back down into the seal. He continued to glow, but the pavement no longer melted at his touch, and he managed to find a mostly-whole scrap of cloth to preserve his modesty as his team cautiously approached. Looking to his teacher, he grinned.

"Well, I burnt out the restraint seals, so I guess it's back to chakra-control exercises, huh? Think I'll be able to manage normal jutsu anymore?"

"I'm afraid not, hyper-brat. But I don't think you'll miss 'em. Just think, they're going to have to develop a whole set of techniques just for you.

Sasuke stood with a deadpan stare.

"What are you looking at? Did I grow an extra nipple or something?" Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"No. I'm just thinking that it's incredibly unfair that you are a literal bomb, but _I'm_ going to get in trouble every time you blow something up that you're not supposed to," the Uchiha complained dryly.

Neji walked up and presented Naruto with a flat parcel. :Open it:

Naruto read the contents: 'I, Hyuuga Neji, do hereby withdraw all sparring challenges I may or may not have issued to one Uzumaki Naruto, in the interests of preserving my life against his unrestrained use of questionably violent explosive techniques.'

"You…I'm not going to _blow you up,_ Neji! I resent the implication!" Naruto turned up his nose indignantly.

The Hyuuga's silent, breathy laughter punctuated the moment.

Tenten strolled around Naruto, inspecting the sealwork on his torso, then reached out and poked a rib.

"Huh…not even a bit warm. Crazy."

"—agh! Tenten, quit poking me! I'm not an anatomy model for you to pull and prod at!"

Anko gave an appreciative nod, "Damn straight; none of the anatomy models I've had have looked nearly this good. You know, I did make that 'you're only twelve' comment earlier, but you're really not bad looking, brat. Give it a couple years and you might have a shot."

She was met by three mildly-traumatized glares. "Anko-sensei, gross!"

The snake-mistress gave her hair a faux-haughty flip. "You're all in denial. I know you love me."

 _A/N: I should be doing homework! WHY DID I WRITE THIS?! Also, I kept trying to write the "siege" part of "The Wave Siege," but it just wasn't happening. Apparently, sieges are boring, so I guess I'll change the titles in the rewrite. Also, I reworked Chapter 1, so there are a couple plot-holes, but I think it flows much better._


End file.
